


Just Around The Corner

by vix_spes



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Tropes, everyone makes an appearance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-24
Packaged: 2018-01-16 22:03:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1363318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leon has been watching the man for ages and, just as he builds up his courage, the mystery man gets there first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Around The Corner

**Author's Note:**

  * For [isisanubis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/isisanubis/gifts).



Whenever he moved, the first thing that Leon always did was scout out the local area and find the best coffee shop, the one that was going to become his second home. At least for however long he lived in this area. After all, Leon never stayed in one place for long; he had always travelled, ever since he was a child. His dad had worked for the government in a role that had required frequent foreign postings and, not wanting the family to be separated for months on end, his parents had made the decision that Leon and his mother would travel as well. Leon could hardly complain – it had given him some amazing opportunities and memories – but there was a downside in that he had a seriously case of wanderlust and an inability to settle down in one place. He was getting a bit sick of it now to be honest and was hoping that, having moved to the small town of Ealdor, he had found somewhere to settle down.  
  
It took him four goes to find somewhere that he felt that he could work; somewhere that wasn’t a chain and wasn’t full of hipster students from the nearby Camelot university. Avalon was the name of the café and it had a small art gallery attached to it. It seemed to do slow and steady business, not too noisy so Leon couldn’t concentrate and as well as doing a decent cup of coffee (and selection of teas for if he had drunk too much coffee), they had an amazing selection of cakes. Not that his choice of coffee shop had anything to do with the cakes they sold. He genuinely liked the atmosphere at Avalon and the people; both those that ran the shop and those that frequented it. They seemed more like a family rather than owners and customers. And they all had fantastic characters. More than once, Leon had found himself incorporating little snippets about their looks and their personalities into his work. One thing was for certain; he had certainly regained his muse since he had moved to Ealdor.  
  
Leon wrote fiction, children’s fiction to be more precise. His knack for making up stories and creating imaginary worlds had apparently started young and, having gained both an undergraduate and a Masters degree in literature, he had been lucky enough to attract the interest of a publisher. It hadn’t always been easy – the muse could be a fickle bitch when she wanted to be – but Leon had built up a steady following and nearly all of his books had been present in the top ten lists at some point or another. His move to Ealdor had tied in with his first attempt to branch out into that tricky world of young adult fiction. The plan was for him to write a fantasy trilogy and the workers and patrons of Avalon, with their own individual personalities and characters, had become his inspiration.  
  
Of the people that worked in Avalon, he definitely had his favourites. The coffee shop was owned and run by Merlin, who had inherited it from his uncle Gaius and his wife Alice. Gaius and Alice had owned and run it for years before deciding that they were too old and wanted to spend their twilight years in the sun. They had left their business to Gaius’ nephew and it had flourished under Merlin’s occupancy. It was he who had added the art gallery, his own art being exhibited there, and he ran art classes for young and old on the side. He ran the business with his best friend Gwen, who did all of the baking and did some catering as well. Gwen was lovely and bubbly, always smiling and completely in love with her rather handsome fiancé Lance, who worked at the local school. They were often helped by Mordred, a rather changeable young man studying some sort of philosophy or religion degree at Camelot and Freya, a rather quiet girl also studying at the university. There were also two cats that lived at Avalon, both of whom were doted on by Merlin as though they were his own children. Kilgharrah had come with the rest of the business and was an old cat who would wander around the place during business hours and stick his nose into everybody’s business. And then there was Aithusa. She was a rescue cat, a small white thing who was terrified of everybody except Merlin, Mordred and Morgana, one of the more regular customers.  
  
The regular customers fascinated Leon just as much as the people who worked at Avalon. There was the afore-mentioned Morgana, who was always in the company of a rather terrifying woman, normally dressed in a business suit. Morgause, as she was apparently known, was as blonde as Morgana was dark and just as beautiful. Nobody was completely certain what the relationship between the two of them was and all of them were too terrified to ask. Normally making an appearance around lunchtime was the lovely Elena, blonde, clumsy and six months pregnant accompanied by her four year old son Gareth. The little lad was doted on by everybody in Avalon and was a miniature version of his dad Percival, who normally joined them on a weekend. Despite his large build, Percival was the epitome of a gentle giant, proving to be putty when it came to his wife and son. Leon genuinely liked the man and, had been a little amused when Percival had commented that he was privately hoping the unborn baby would be a girl.  
  
There was Lance, the husband of Gwen, who worked in the local secondary school. He would come in first thing in a morning, after school and occasionally during the lunch hour. Leon couldn’t help but envy their relationship a little. According to Gwen, who was always happy to stop and have a bit of a gossip, they had been married for three years and they were still in that honeymoon phase; still obviously completely in love. Whenever Lance walked in, Gwen’s face lit up and it was clear that Lance adored her just as much. Just as sickeningly in love were Merlin and Arthur. They might argue like crazy but it was clear to anybody with eyes that the two of them were madly in love with each other and, according to Gwen, had been for years ever since they were at school. They weren’t quite as overt in their affection as Gwen and Lance but, it was clear from the way that they moved so in sync with each other that they had been together for years. Not to mention the smile and fond look in Arthur’s eyes as he watched Merlin when the other man wasn’t looking. Theirs was the relationship that Leon truly envied. He wanted that for himself.  
  
Leon would be the first person to admit that he was a bit of a romantic at heart. He wanted the whole happy ever after and it seemed as though he had been looking forever. He had had a number of relationships in a whole host of cities around the world as he had travelled and none of them had worked out. It hadn’t deterred him though. He was still looking for The One.  He had thought that he had found them once before only to be bitterly disappointed. Now, he had found somebody in Ealdor, in Avalon, that he wanted to get to know. He wanted the opportunity to discover whether or not that person could be The One.  
  
And that person was Gwaine. Leon had gone nearly a month not knowing his name, only to discover it when Merlin had shouted it out one day. From there, all it had taken was asking Gwen a couple of questions and she had happily volunteered all of the information that Leon wanted to know. He knew that Merlin had met Gwaine at uni, that he was a photographer, he was a flirt (Leon knew that one just from watching him), he was single and he was bisexual. There was nothing there that should have Leon running for the hills. Indeed, everything seemed positive and at least he was attracted to someone who was actually attracted to men, unlike the last one. Considering that the move to Ealdor had been all about new starts and taking chances, Leon decided that he could take a chance on Gwaine as well. Every time he went to Avalon, Leon swore that he would finally talk to Gwaine, even if he just said hello. Nearly six months down the line, he hadn’t even managed that.  
  
He reached for his mug, having finished another chapter, only to discover that it was empty and that his stomach was rumbling. Not really wanting to leave Avalon, not when he was on such a roll, he made to stand up to get fresh coffee and a slice of Gwen’s sinful chocolate cake when the very items he wanted appeared on his table. Not only that but they were accompanied by the very person that Leon had been gawking at ever since he had walked into Avalon.  
  
“Merlin said you would be ready for another injection of caffeine and sugar right about now and he was right. It’s like a magical sixth sense he has. You must be our new resident writer, I’m Gwaine.”  
  
Leon half-stood and reached out to shake the offered hand, saving his work quickly with the other. “L-Leon Knight.”  
  
“Nice to meet you.” Gwaine slid into the other seat at the table without it being offered. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”  
  
“Oh?” Leon wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. What did you say when you found out people had been talking about you?”  
  
“Don’t look so worried, all good things. Merlin is convinced that we’ll get on like a house on fire. So, are you single?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Mordred and Freya have been taking bets on whether you’re gay or straight. Morgana said you were more interested in blokes and her gaydar never fails. So, you single?”  
  
“Yes?” Leon hated the way that nerves made his voice rise slightly at the end, making his answer sound more like a question.  
  
“The Rising Sun up on the hill has a great menu. You free Friday night, about seven?”  
  
“Um yes?” This was all going rather quick, leaving Leon rather flustered.  
  
“Then it’s a date. See ya Friday at the Rising Sun, Leon Knight.”  
  
Then Gwaine was off with a wink at Leon and a jaunty salute to a grinning Merlin behind the counter. Taking a swig of coffee to clear his dry throat and absentmindedly forking up a mouthful of the cake, Leon turned his gaze back to his laptop even though his attention was on what had just happened.  
  
Apparently he had date on Friday. An actual date, with Gwaine nonetheless. Maybe moving to Ealdor and picking the coffee shop around the corner was the best idea that he had had in years.

**Author's Note:**

> If you would prefer to comment on LJ, you can do so [here](http://vix-spes.livejournal.com/159340.html)


End file.
